recent Bonus Link of the Month was the website for America's oldest winter festival, the St. Paul, MN, Winter Carnival. The celebration was a joyous 10 days' worth of frolicking, feasting, and loads of snow-filled adventure. recent Bonus Link of the Month was the website for America's oldest winter festival, the St. Paul, MN, Winter Carnival. The celebration was a joyous 10 days' worth of frolicking, feasting, and loads of snow-filled adventure.
Whilst Milord Boreas, King of the Winds, didst conduct himself with dignity and honor, as he rightly should, being the Windlord and all, there were, however, incidents of a most ineffective nature involving the Wind King's nemesis, Vulcanus Rex. For most of the half-century that the present Winter Carnival Legend has been part of the snowy landscape in St. Paul, the Vulcans have carried out acts of mischief that, until now, were as simple and as fun as one could ever hope they could be.
Toward the end of the 10-day Festival, it was reported that no less than the Fire King himself groped three women in a bar --- raising possible questions concerning the future of one of the most colorful pieces of St. Paul legerdemain. Carnival organizers last week granted a leave of absence to the 2005 Vulcanus Rex, Tom Trudeau, and restricted all activities of his Fire Court. There would be a special panel convened at the end of the Carnival that would consider how the Vulcans operate.
Apparently, there had been rumors --- or, very possibly, rumors of rumors --- that the Vulcans had been involved in incidents of wild partying. Carnival CEO Robert Viking was not surprised by these allegations. In the past, Vulcans painted greasepaint on their cheeks and smooched women cheek-to-cheek, regardless of whether they wanted it or not. As a result of several protests during the 70s, the tradition was abandoned; subsequently, the Vulcs began using greasepaint sticks to mark willing participants, children mostly, with the customary "V." In recent years, however, the marking ritual has drawn fire (no pun intended) from folks who wanted no part of the marking concept, women in particular.
The charges against Trudeau stemmed from what the Vulcans call their "garter ritual," wherein a garter is placed upon a woman's thigh as a sort of Royal Knighting Ceremony. Three female bartenders at a St. Paul area bar didst accuse the Vulcs of surrounding them, one at a time, with these garters. The Vulcans then held up their capes whilst Trudeau sexually molested them as he placed the garters on their legs, according to the criminal complaint. Trudeau now faces three gross misdemeanor counts of 5th-degree sexual conduct. Several former Vulcans have expressed horror over the incident.
"It's devastating to our organization, and to me personally," the Associated Press quotes Howie Register, Vulcanus Rex 1996, as saying. "We're not some dirty, nasty old men out there being a bunch of drunks. We do too much good to have this be our black eye." By tradition, the Fire King and the seven members of his Court are usually seen hanging off the side of a fire truck dashing through the traditional Carnival Parade routes. They're also committed to feeding the hungry and homeless, visiting area hospitals, raising funds for local charities, and acting as goodwill ambassadors for the City of St. Paul. Their complete background is available on the Vulcan Krewe website, www.vulcankrewe.org.
Your Dragonmaster would like to express how horrified I am by learning of these terrible happenings in Milord Boreas' Realm; in previous years, the Carnival ended with both Courts of Fire and Ice leaving the lands of St. Paul in peace until the returning of the winter storms. That something this horrible could occur here, in the Windlord's own snowy domain, leaves me quite shocked! Nevertheless, the Carnival having ended a while ago, the February Bonus Link designation still stands, as a tribute to the more responsible organizations and individuals who take their beloved St. Paul Winter Carnival quite seriously. Let us hope that future Winter Carnivals will maintain the Legends and traditions their fans have relied upon in a responsible and meaningful manner. 'Nuff said.